Battle of D'Korin
A battle in the D'Korin System that occured January 05, 2387 between the Starfleet Border Patrol and the Imperial Klingon Force. Results: *Klingon Strategic Victory. *Federation Technical Victory. The Federation achieved it's objective in severly damaging and/or destroying the shipyards and industrial base of D'Korin, but with great losses. The Empire achieved it's objective of retaining enough of an industrial base to continue opertations as well as retaining hold of the planet. Prelude to Battle The Federation had suspected for some time that the Klingon Empire had been building up its border forces for a strike into Romulan Sector Space by using the shipyards at D'Korin. With neither sides backing down at the barganing table, the Federation finally decides to end the threat by sending a strike force in to eliminate the shipyards and manufacturing plants on D'Korin. The Federation pulls three of their carriers off of border duty for an attack. The Klingons, having watched the Federation Ambassador storm away from negotiations, ordered the D'Korin Shipyards to double their output in preparation for armed conflict. To make sure that the shipyards were protected, they sent in two of their Qang-Class Carriers to oversee overall defense of the sector, fearing an all out Federation Invasion of the system. A single Ty'Gokor-Class Bird of Prey was also sent into the area to hunt for any hostile fleets. Klingon Intelligence saturated the area with as much misinformation as possible, hoping to lure a weaker Federation Fleet into a trap. Starfleet Intelligence gave the go-ahead for the attack on D'Korin on January 2nd of 2387. On January 4th, three Federation Border Patrol Carriers and their escorts met up at Starbase Vanguard before proceeding to D'Korin. The stage was now set for a battle that would leave both sides reeling. Federation Forces Captain David Jameson; Task Force Typhoon Commanding Officer * USS Typhon (NCC-85800) - 4 Fighter/Bomber Groups (Flagship) * USS Goddard (NCC-85818) - 2 Figher Groups, 2 Bomber Groups * USS Wright (NCC-85819) - 4 Interceptor Groups * Plus six Kelvin-Class Destroyers Klingon Forces Klag, Son of M'Raq; D'Korin System Defense Commanding Officer * IKS Gorkon - Qang-Class Carrier + 2 Fighter Groups (Flagship) * IKS Sturka - Qang-Class Carrier + 2 Fighter Groups * IKS Ty'Gokor - Ty'Gokor-Class Bird of Prey (Modified D-25 K'Vort) * 10 B'rel Class Bird of Prey Escorts * 10 K'Vort Class Bird of Prey Destroyers * 10 Land-Based Figher Groups * 5 Station-Based Interceptor Groups * Starbase JornebHoD * Fixed Ground-To-Orbit weapon emplacements * Plus multiple starships in various stages of construction/repair. Engagement Captain Jameson of the USS Typhon was not counting on the presence of two Chancellor-Class Carriers at D'Korin, so the tactical situation was changed on the fly. The Federation opted to launch all of their fighters, bombers, interceptors, and support craft well outside of the D'Korin System in preperation for battle. Capital ships then divided from the smaller attack craft in an attempt to draw the IKS Gorkon and IKS Sturka away from the planet while the attack craft squadrons snuck in under low power. The ruse worked as the Klingons were eager for battle. Captain Klag seperated the IKS Gorkon from Starbase JornebHoD and launched all of his fighters as well as ordering all available ships into formation. Klag then ordered all ships to engage the Federation Ships as quickly as possible while ordering all other ships in drydock to combat rediness as soon as possible. This allowed the attack craft to arrive unmolested in orbit around D'Korin itself. The Federation attack craft tore into the shipyards while remaining clear of the orbiting Starbase itself. The commander of the Starbase launched all of his interceptors at once to engage and destroy the Federation attackers while ordering up the land-based squadrons below. Knowing that he had little time since their cover was now blown, and upon assuming command of the bombing group upon his commanding officer's death, Lieutenant Coleton Grafton from the USS Goddard ordered all bombers into a steep angle of entry into the planet and then to an all out dive for the planet's surface before the Surface-to-Space Orbital Guns came online. Then, the bombers would fly nape of the earth all the way to their targets while the interceptors and fighters kept the Klingons busy. This would become known as "Grafton's Charge". Meanwhile, in space, things were looking up for the Federation and it appeared to be the makings of a Federation Decisive Victory were it not for the timely arrival of Captain Korleth in the IKS Ty'Gokor under cloak. The Ty'Gokor, using its unique ability to fire while under cloak, made short work of the USS Wright and two of her escorts, evening the odds considerably for the Klingons. Captain Jameson knew that his two remaining Carriers and four remaining Destroyers would not be able to stand up to the full might of the Gorkon and the Sturka, especially with all of his fighters and interceptors busy in orbit or in the atmosphere of D'Korin. The moment he heard of the primary missions being fufilled, Jameson called for a general retreat out of the system, but not before the Klingons managed to inflict heavy casualties on the attack groups and the capital ships themselves. Aftermath The Klingons breathed a sigh of relief that D'Korin remained in their hands and celebrated their victory over the Federation. The tensions on the Federation side of the border eased considerably with news of how badly the Klingons were hurt at D'Korin. Both sides backed down from all out armed conflict to continue on in their mutually agreed upon Cold War. Captain Klag's overeagerness to engage in battle so quickly nearly cost him all of D'Korin. The fact that he was ultimately able to pull a victory out by his forces destroying four Federation Capital Ships and nearly wiping out their fighter squadrons earned Klag much praise with the Klingon High Council. He would later be inducted into the Order of the Bat'leth for his actions here. Captain Jameson returned to Federation Space to a career-suicide situation. He was harshly critizised for not delaying the action long enough to gather more adequate, on-the-spot intel of the defenses deployed at D'Korin. With the Wright, Voight, Armstrong, ''and ''Pastur all destroyed, the Typhon, Goddard, Michaelson, Merrimac, ''and ''Pieit ''severly damaged (the USS Pieit had to be scrapped afterwards), as well as losing over half of his figher/bomber groups, there was little for Jameson to do except retire from Starfleet as quietly as possible. Captain Korleth, having successfully demonstrated the value of the Ty'Gokor-Class Bird of Prey, went home to glory and honors, having been personally responsible for downing one carrier and two escorts of the Federation Fleet (The ''Ty'Gokor destroyed the Wright without the carrier even knowing they were there and then engaged the Voight and the Armstrong in a prolonged battle). Cole Grafton, now the author of the 'Grafton's Charge' (See Below), would be captured by the Klingons when his Intruder was shot down after completing his mission over Jorneb. He would be awarded the Silver Star for his actions and his tactic would become required reading at the Academy. He'd be rescued 7 months later by crew from the USS Miranda (NCC-77000). Losses * Federation: ** USS Wright (Typhon-Class) ** USS Voight (Kelvin-Class) ** USS Armstrong (Kelvin-Class) ** USS Pastur (Kelvin-Class) ** Upwards of half of all the Attack Craft Groups launched. * Klingon: ** 8 B'Rel Class Birds of Prey ** 5 K'Vort Class Birds of Prey ** All 5 Station-Based Interceptor Groups ** 2 Land-Based FIghter Groups ** 1/2 of the D'Korin Shipyards ** Multiple industrial sites in Jorneb ** Multiple mining facilities on D'Korin'cha Notable Combatants * David Jameson - Commanding Officer of the USS Typhon * Korleth, Son of Mi'Goth - Commanding Officer of the IKS Ty'Gokor * Klag, Son of M'Raq - Commanding Officer of the IKS Gorkon * Cole Grafton - Assumed command of the USS Goddard Bombing Group Grafton's Charge Grafton's Charge is a tactical manuver that was designed to get combat aerocraft into a planetary atmosphere and down to a planetary surface in a hurry before orbital and surface defenses could be brought online. Cole Grafton ordered all of his Intruder-class Bombers to dive into the atmosphere of D'Korin at a very steep reentry angle well past the design limits. The A-6AS Intruder is designed for a -45 degree angle of entry. Grafton ordered all bombers to reinforce their forward shields, set thrust to maximum, and increase the angle to -60 degrees. This allowed the Intruders to clear the reentry window in a much faster time, allowing their pursuers to pass by overhead. Once the bombers were inside of the planet's atmosphere, Grafton ordered them all into a steep dive (-90 degrees straight down in Grafton's personal case) towards their targets. At roughly 2000' AGL; the bombers then pulled up and flew nape of the earth all the way to their targets, well under Klingon defenses and sensory equipment. Once flying along the ground, the bombers then would pull up when they reached their target, pull a hammerhead dive/stall, and dive bomb their targets before continuing on to their next target while flying nape of the earth again. This process would be repeated all over D'Korin while the Fighters and Interceptors flew high cover to keep enemy fighters off of the Bombers.